Neurodegenerative Disorders

Abstract

The integrity of neuropsychological systems is subject to progressive decline as a function of multiple underlying dementia processes, defined by neurocognitive decline in memory, judgment, language, complex motor skills, and other neuropsychological processes. The dementias involve progressive neurodegenerative changes over time subsequent to neuronal or glial cell loss or malfunction. Although multiple maladies may underlie neurodegenerative decline, Alzheimer’s disease is considered the most common cause of dementia, representing about 60 % of all dementias identified at the clinical assessment. Estimates of the number of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease in the USA vary according to the National Institute on Aging, with numbers ranging from 2.4  to 4.5 million, with the discrepancies drawn from operational differences in diagnostic criterion and measurement. Other neurodegenerative disorders include vascular dementia, arising from recurrent stroke or vascular pathologies, dementia with Lewy bodies, alcoholic or substance use dementia, post-concussive dementia subsequent to head trauma, frontotemporal dementia, and many other progressive or recurrent brain disorders.